The worst inning in T20 cricket is not a first ball duck. It is one in which a batter can neither hit nor come out. Ben Stokes’ battling with the bat on Thursday belonged to that same category.
Opening the innings, Stokes went 30-of-32 as the Rajasthan Royals finished 154 under 6 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In other words, Stokes consumed 26.7% of the total number of balls while he scored 19.9% of the bat runs that the Royals achieved.
Not that Stokes didn’t show any intention. He tried to work hard, do a reverse sweep and shovel, but he was barely in control. His 68.75 control percentage was the worst in the top five in the Royals’ batting lineup. When it was 17 against 19, it sank into the depths. Twice before that, the ball had fallen short of the fielder; Stokes did not take advantage of those opportunities. In fact, he fought so hard that ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index favored the knockdown catch, rather than hurting the Sunrisers.
The Sunrisers had done their homework too. From the start, Jonny Bairstow stood up to the stumps to prevent Stokes from moving across the field. The first time he came back was when Jason Holder went bowling – Stokes walked down and hit it flat to mark a boundary in the middle.
Bairstow was left behind when Vijay Shankar went bowling. Shankar is arguably the least threatening of the Sunrisers bowlers and bowlers at a rate similar to that of Sandeep Sharma, the new bowler. Of the nine balls he threw at Stokes, six were of good length or just short.
The idea, apparently, was to hit him against the field and pressure Stokes for space. It worked as it only managed five of those nine deliveries. Also, while Stokes was in the middle, David Warner missed left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, whose angle would have been easier for him to score.
So far at IPL 2020, Stokes has started in all five games he has played, scoring 110 runs on 103 balls. He has yet to hit a six, and his hit rate of 106.79 is the lowest among those who have played at least 100 balls in the tournament.
There can be many reasons why Stokes has not clicked as a starter. For one thing, he’s been hitting out of position. Stokes does not open for England in any format. In international cricket, he has opened only once: against the West Indies in a test earlier this year when England was looking for a quick statement. In cue ball cricket, his role for England ranges from a medium-order stabilizer to a finisher.
In fact, prior to the 2020 IPL, Stokes had started just five times in T20 cricket, scoring 188 runs with a strike rate of 139.25. But those came two years ago. With him hitting out of position and teams throwing their best bowls in the power game, he hasn’t helped his cause.
He has also lacked the practice of the game. Unlike most players, who had arrived in the UAE well in advance and had time to acclimate to conditions, Stokes had to jump into the competition as soon as his mandatory quarantine was over after arriving from New Zealand, where I was in compassion. leave to be with his sick father.
By the time Stokes played his first IPL 2020 game, the tournament was already nearing the second half. While he didn’t have time to get used to the conditions, the slower pitches meant he hasn’t found the moment yet. Like Shankar on Thursday, other bowlers have also consistently denied him space by aiming for the stumps, or by bowling right outside at a good or short length.
While promoting Stokes to open the innings, the Royals would have expected him to take advantage of a hard new ball, as his numbers against spin aren’t very flattering. Since 2018, it has averaged 18.76 against the effect while hitting 114.55.
But with Stokes as a starter doing more harm than good, there are reasons for Jos Buttler to trade positions with him. Buttler performs best at the top of the order, while Stokes’ numbers are much better at the middle order. It’s time for the Royals to review their decision, or is it too late?
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